Clive James
| Clive James AO CBE |
|
|---|---|
| Born | Vivian Leopold James 7 October 1939 Kogarah, Sydney, Australia |
| Occupation | Essayist, poet, broadcaster |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Notable works | Unreliable Memoirs |
| Notable awards | Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal for Literature |
| Spouse | Prudence A. ("Prue") Shaw |
| Children |
Claerwen James Lucinda James |
| Website | |
| clivejames |
|
Clive James AO CBE FRSL (born Vivian Leopold James, 7 October 1939) is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1962.
James was born Vivian Leopold James in Kogarah, a southern suburb of Sydney. He was allowed to change his name as a child because "after Vivien Leigh played Scarlett O'Hara the name became irrevocably a girl's name no matter how you spelled it". He chose "Clive", the name of Tyrone Power's character in the 1942 film This Above All.
James's father was taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. Although he survived the prisoner of war camp, he died when the aeroplane returning him to Australia crashed in Manila Bay; he was buried at Sai Wan War Cemetery in Hong Kong. James, who was an only child, was brought up by his mother, a factory worker, in the Sydney suburb of Kogarah, after living some years with his English maternal grandfather.
In Unreliable Memoirs, James says an IQ test taken in childhood put his IQ at 140. He was educated at Sydney Technical High School (despite winning a bursary award to Sydney Boys High School) and the University of Sydney, where he studied English and Psychology from 1957 to 1960, and became associated with the Sydney Push, a libertarian, intellectual subculture. At the university, he edited the student newspaper, Honi Soit, and directed the annual Union Revue. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English in 1961. After graduating, James worked for a year as an assistant editor for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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